to follow
Friday, February 24, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
BUZZ STATEMENT OF INTENT
Over the course of BUZZ I will be engaging in case study research. To quote from Kieran and Maria… this “entails the close study of a single case, so case study inquiry is concerned with the complexity and particular nature of the case in question. The most common use of the term ‘case’ associates the case study with a location (such as a particular community or institution). examples of case studies are: Steph’s ideas on the nature and relevance of research in the creative working procedures of her third level visual communication students.”
The key purpose/aim of my research... The central aim of my research in BUZZ revolves around an examination of how (and if) research is embedded into the creative design process, in a non-linear way. I encourage my students to undertake extensive research throughout the creative process - to guide them in all aspects of that process - from building an understanding of the issues involved in a brief, through to the concept and visual development for it. It is my belief that research is fundamental to the design outcome and is involved at every stage of the creative design process. A key research aim in BUZZ is to set about finding evidence to prove or disprove this hypothesis. I will undertake this research with a case study group formed among 5 of my third year students in BA (Hons) Visual Communication at AIT.
The key purpose/aim of my research... The central aim of my research in BUZZ revolves around an examination of how (and if) research is embedded into the creative design process, in a non-linear way. I encourage my students to undertake extensive research throughout the creative process - to guide them in all aspects of that process - from building an understanding of the issues involved in a brief, through to the concept and visual development for it. It is my belief that research is fundamental to the design outcome and is involved at every stage of the creative design process. A key research aim in BUZZ is to set about finding evidence to prove or disprove this hypothesis. I will undertake this research with a case study group formed among 5 of my third year students in BA (Hons) Visual Communication at AIT.
What needs to be the focus...
In order to address the central research question, the focus of my study will be in the examination of the embedded nature of research in the students design process and the influence (or not) of the research on the visual development and final creative outcome from the students. I will distill the information I gather in an effort to progress my specific research purpose as I observe in my case study group.
As part of the statement of intent for BUZZ I felt it important to include an issue that sits to the side of my main hypothesis, but which is also at the very heart of understanding the key issues being addressed within it. Specifically, I am referring to analytical thinking being a fundamental part of the creative practice of a graphic designer. Perhaps unlike artistic practice where generally the creative spark is free to roam and the journey of visual discovery and expression is at the heart of the creative process, in design practice the rationale and conceptual bases are intertwined wholly, and the creative visual expression of those elements through the final piece is the best attempt at capturing that.
In essence the beauty is in the aesthetic, and in the way in which the aesthetic embodies both the concept and the research behind it .
If we think of a graphic design artifact it can take many formats – posters, books, magazine design, marketing materials, branding, packaging etc. etc. I believe the research the designer does into the parameters of the brief (whether that be as set by a client, or a looser outline set personally) and every single aspect of the design thereafter will be affected by the research undertaken as part of the creative design process. For example, the research will help identify the visual culture of the target audience, and therefore influence everything from the copy writing to the typeface choice, to the imagery, and even the format.
Research methods and reporting on research...
Research methods I will use are the ones which reveal themselves as most relevant and intuitively useful as the research and reporting upon it evolves and changes over the course of BUZZ. For now I anticipate using “analysis of documentary evidence” - the analysis of the design artifact (predominantly the students’ sketchpads and notebooks) as my primary research method. I will be filtering the elements I observe through the lens of my central hypothesis, so that ultimately my response to this will take the form of both a written offering and a visual one. I intend on approaching this through photographing and documenting my learners’ sketchpads in journal form on my blog. This blog journal will feature firstly * student research methodologies and the influence and impact of research on their creative process and the designed outcome; and secondly * the journal will express my own analysis of it and my own design progress for the BUZZ reporting.
As part of the statement of intent for BUZZ I felt it important to include an issue that sits to the side of my main hypothesis, but which is also at the very heart of understanding the key issues being addressed within it. Specifically, I am referring to analytical thinking being a fundamental part of the creative practice of a graphic designer. Perhaps unlike artistic practice where generally the creative spark is free to roam and the journey of visual discovery and expression is at the heart of the creative process, in design practice the rationale and conceptual bases are intertwined wholly, and the creative visual expression of those elements through the final piece is the best attempt at capturing that.
In essence the beauty is in the aesthetic, and in the way in which the aesthetic embodies both the concept and the research behind it .
If we think of a graphic design artifact it can take many formats – posters, books, magazine design, marketing materials, branding, packaging etc. etc. I believe the research the designer does into the parameters of the brief (whether that be as set by a client, or a looser outline set personally) and every single aspect of the design thereafter will be affected by the research undertaken as part of the creative design process. For example, the research will help identify the visual culture of the target audience, and therefore influence everything from the copy writing to the typeface choice, to the imagery, and even the format.
Research methods and reporting on research...
Research methods I will use are the ones which reveal themselves as most relevant and intuitively useful as the research and reporting upon it evolves and changes over the course of BUZZ. For now I anticipate using “analysis of documentary evidence” - the analysis of the design artifact (predominantly the students’ sketchpads and notebooks) as my primary research method. I will be filtering the elements I observe through the lens of my central hypothesis, so that ultimately my response to this will take the form of both a written offering and a visual one. I intend on approaching this through photographing and documenting my learners’ sketchpads in journal form on my blog. This blog journal will feature firstly * student research methodologies and the influence and impact of research on their creative process and the designed outcome; and secondly * the journal will express my own analysis of it and my own design progress for the BUZZ reporting.
The second research method I intend exploring will be “structured interviews” with the learners involved. This will take the form of one to one tutorials with the student throughout their project, which I do weekly, the difference for the purposes of my central BUZZ hypothesis will be that I will be reflecting on these discussions through the lens of my central research aim, and cataloguing my responses as well as the responses of the students. I will examine the 'hows' and 'whys' of the student study groups' researching methods.
The final research method I anticipate using will be in the form of “art practice as research” and this will culminate in the concept, design and layout of a final visual artifact that reports on the experience of BUZZing. I have been producing on my own research throughout the REV creative output and on into visual mapping within COP. Thankfully without the parameters of a brief the artifact itself is open ended until the information gathering and analysis of it is in full swing and setting the creative trajectory. I may re-vist a book format used in SynaeScape or move more in the direction of visual mapping which I explored within COP, or possibly it could become an onscreen piece featuring mapping and/or motion.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
COP Ended
Please see "Sites I Like" panel to the left to link to my COP Module Website
I have continued to tease out some elements I identified during REV and have attempted to evolve them in the context of my undertakings in COP.
While the primary subject matter of my visual explorations during REV related to Synaesthesia as a subject (the outcomes of which can be seen on my blog – http://stephsmythmasters.blogspot.com) it became more and more evident that the act of researching itself was forming a huge part of the creative output. The creation of my book 'SynaeScape' revolved largely around the process of researching and the sense of overwhelm in ordering and processing of that research visually. Additionally, areas I encountered as part of the creative practice - for example visual mapping and data visualisation (as referred to in my Voice Threads) – started to come to the fore.
COP has provided me with the opportunity to explore these areas further and I have also attempted to visually capture the design process of my students and my own efforts as their lecturer in instilling an appreciation of the value and influence of quality subject and visual research as part of their own creative design practice. There is a transformation that occurs when research moves from being a passive act of observation and discovery to its application as an active agent of change. There is an element of complexity to this, and I have attempted to capture that visually here in taking the opportunity to explore visual mapping in my own work.
Below is the piece finished in the course of COP.
It visually describes the design process in the studio culture of my 3rd year students.
In it I have tried to encompasss my COP focus points of research, studio culture and complexity.
I have continued to tease out some elements I identified during REV and have attempted to evolve them in the context of my undertakings in COP.
While the primary subject matter of my visual explorations during REV related to Synaesthesia as a subject (the outcomes of which can be seen on my blog – http://stephsmythmasters.blogspot.com) it became more and more evident that the act of researching itself was forming a huge part of the creative output. The creation of my book 'SynaeScape' revolved largely around the process of researching and the sense of overwhelm in ordering and processing of that research visually. Additionally, areas I encountered as part of the creative practice - for example visual mapping and data visualisation (as referred to in my Voice Threads) – started to come to the fore.
COP has provided me with the opportunity to explore these areas further and I have also attempted to visually capture the design process of my students and my own efforts as their lecturer in instilling an appreciation of the value and influence of quality subject and visual research as part of their own creative design practice. There is a transformation that occurs when research moves from being a passive act of observation and discovery to its application as an active agent of change. There is an element of complexity to this, and I have attempted to capture that visually here in taking the opportunity to explore visual mapping in my own work.
Below is the piece finished in the course of COP.
It visually describes the design process in the studio culture of my 3rd year students.
In it I have tried to encompasss my COP focus points of research, studio culture and complexity.
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